Duckweed
Lemna minor
Aquatic Plants Difficulty: Very Easy
📖 About this plant
One of the smallest flowering plants, consisting of tiny free-floating green fronds on the water surface. Doubles its biomass in 2-3 days under ideal conditions. Excellent at absorbing excess nutrients and reducing algae, but can quickly become a nuisance by blocking light and depleting oxygen.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
☀️
Light
Partial shade to full sun
💧
Water
Floats freely on water surface
💨
Humidity
N/A (fully aquatic)
🌡️
Temperature
10-30°C
🪴
Soil
None required — free-floating on water surface
🧪
Fertilizer
Absorbs nutrients directly from water, no additional fertilizer needed in fish tanks
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Cosmopolitan — found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica
- 📏 Max height
- 0.5-1 cm per frond
- 📐 Spread
- 5-15 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Non-flowering
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Insignificant (white, rarely visible)
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Very Fast
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic to fish and humans, but can cause oxygen depletion if it covers entire water surface
- 🌱 Propagation
- Vegetative budding — each frond produces daughter fronds rapidly
🛡️ Health & Safety
🐾 Pet safe
✅ Non-toxic
Non-toxic to fish and humans, but can cause oxygen depletion if it covers entire water surface
Common issues
- Explosive growth can cover entire water surface blocking light, Clogging filters and pumps, Carrying parasites between tanks, Oxygen depletion at night
💡 Care tips
- Tiny floating plant that multiplies rapidly,Provides natural shade and food for pond fish,Helps absorb excess nutrients reducing algae growth,Harvest regularly to prevent complete surface coverage
🪴 Add to My Plants
One click — added instantly. Watering every 7 days, fertilizing every 30 days.
